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ATN Podcast 312: Two big games; one classic

Unexpected realizations that if Bethel had had its No. 1 quarterback healthy and won in Week 2 at UW-Platteville, perhaps we’d be in a position where someone might have given Bethel … a No. 1 vote? Stranger things have happened. Or, well, things that are similarly strange have happened already.

We had two big games to key on from Saturday, and one was a barnburner. The other … well, it was just a team getting lit up. But we hear from players on the winning side of both games, including Bethel quarterback Jaran Roste, that aforementioned quarterback who severely dislocated his elbow in Week 1 and was on the field in Week 4. He talks us through the injury, his recovery, a key touchdown pass and more as we talk with him in our Fast 5 segment. Plus In The Huddle’s Frank Rossi was in Abilene, Texas, for the Mary Hardin-Baylor win against Hardin-Simmons and he not only brings audio from Kyle King and Johnny Smith-Rider, he brings his first-hand eyewitness report.

In addition, Pat and Greg hand out game balls, spotlight two interesting things from each region (as always), plus more. There’s a list in small type at the bottom of this page of all the teams that are talked about.

Fan question in our mailbag from Mike Shoultz @mikey_shoultz: Are we ranking the BEST TEAMS? Or the best RESUMES? We all know If Platteville, or Stout line it up against Albion, DePauw, Huntingdon they’re beating them by 7-21 points. While their records aren’t as good, they’re better teams. And if matched up that would be proven. (There’s more in a second tweet from him as well.)

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photo by UMHB athletics

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ATN Podcast 308: Best things to watch in 2022

We’re getting ready to kick it all off with the first week of Division III football games for 2022 this weekend, and this week’s podcast takes you around to the big stories and big things we’re watching across Division III this season. We take it on, region by region. What’s fun in the 1? What’s new in the 2? What do we see in the 3? What’s in store in the 4? Who’ll thrive in the 5? What’s in the mix in the 6? Pat and Greg run it all down, along with special guest Frank Rossi of In the Huddle weighing in on Regions 1 and 2.

Plus, we know — we know, sometimes it’s hard to pay attention in the offseason. If that’s you, never fear — Pat runs down the big news from the offseason, in song form. Yes, in song form — picture the Yakko’s World song from Animaniacs, and if that doesn’t resonate with your generation, just know we tested it against a 9-year-old, a 20-year-old, a 39-year-old and a 49-year-old and they had all heard the original. Lyrics below, in case it’s too fast to follow!

There are a number of big games — rest assured we’ll talk plenty about UW-Whitewater at St. John’s and Muhlenberg at Mary Hardin-Baylor in other ways before those games kick off, so we focus on two additional games to watch.

Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Theme music: Power 2 by DJmentos.
Photos: Delaware Valley athletics photo; Westminster (Pa.) athletics photo by by Jason Kapusta; Wittenberg athletics photo by Nick Falzerano

Full lyrics to D3 world: 

UMHB won the national title and blew the ’19 champs away
And 36 weeks later, offseason’s over and let’s all get ready to play
Coach Fred retired and Jeff Thorne got hired at D-I so both guys are gone
So how many coaches still left have a title? It turns out the answer is none.

Hilbert is taking the field this season, with seven games all on the slate
And 229 others are hoping a postseason trip is their fate

(Sorry, NESCAC, let us know when you are ready for the playoffs)

The Carousel turned and coaches were spurned with many more moving around
Defiance keeps turning, Alvernia’s learning it’s hard to get teams off the ground
Jim Collins is back and the bottom of the PAC sees new coaches at Bethany and Thiel
Three guys from Columbia, while at UW-Platteville they gave an assistant a deal.

Oh and Whitewater’s offense guy went up to Oshkosh and now calls the Titans his team
Then Titans assistants went 84 miles west and make up the whole Pointer scheme

(Seriously, four coaches on the website and three are former Oshkosh assistants)

No one got drafted, yes D-III got shafted, with two guys on free-agent deals
While HSU managed to find an opponent for happier playoff reveals
The first month’s obsession will make an impression, with Whitewater up at St. John’s
Then hosting the Cru, while there’s Muhlenberg too, Wheaton, Trinity chase Walnut and Bronze.

Hopefully COVID won’t be a big deal and we can play all of our games!
And 16 weeks later we’ll know all the scores and then you can learn lots of new names.

(No big Week 1 showdown for Mount Union.)

And here’s what we have for the ’22 season en route to Stagg Bowl 49
The Cru down in Belton with defense reloading and Kyle King, QB divine
The Raiders in Purple might almost be sleepers with two titles in the last nine
and YOU DUB DUB Whitewater lost some big players but probably looks to be fine

Remember the Stagg Bowl is now in Annapolis, that’s where you’re wanting to be.
No matter what happens at least more than just two teams
have some good chances
to win a few playoff games,
If the committee will give them a bid
So you better just go win your league.

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ATN Podcast 305: Early D-III powers bring coaches back to D-III

Wittenberg played in the Stagg Bowl four times in the 1970s, winning two of them. One of those wins was against Ithaca, which played in four of the first eight Stagg Bowls and has played in seven overall, winning three of them. The teams even met in Stagg Bowl IV.

While this is not your father’s Wittenberg or Ithaca, these programs haven’t exactly gone away, either, and are still relevant. At least one is in the playoff hunt every year, it would seem. And each this year has a new head coach, which is why we tabbed Ithaca’s Michael Toerper and Wittenberg’s Jim Collins to join us on Podcast 305. This continues the series, now blatantly intentional, of offseason conversations with new coaches at Division III contenders, one started in Podcast 302 with North Central’s Brad Spencer.

We asked the listeners for suggestions as to which coach or coaches we should talk to next, and we also opened up the floor for listener questions. Pat and Greg tackle the following:

  • What team is likely to be a surprise playoff team in 2022?
  • How has the pandemic changed Division III football?
  • What’s more beneficial to a struggling program, playing a nine-game schedule or having a 10th against a juggernaut?

Some heavy questions, plus Greg finds out what’s on Pat’s Division III football bucket list. Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas talk about it all in the latest D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast is a regular conversation covering the wide range of Division III football.

Hit play, or subscribe to get this podcast on your mobile device.

Full episode:

You can subscribe to the Around the Nation Podcast in Apple Podcasts, and many other places. You can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3blogs.com/d3football/?feed=podcast

Here’s how to find us on some of the major podcasting apps:

Apple Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
Google Podcasts: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
iHeart Radio: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
Stitcher: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast
Spotify: D3football.com Around the Nation Podcast

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